King Edward (

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

: ''Cinn Eadar'') is a small village, parish and former

feudal barony A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been ...

near the north coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by th ...

midway between

Turriff Turriff () is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It lies on the River Deveron, about above sea level, and has a population of 5,708. In everyday speech it is often referred to by its Scots name ''Turra'', which is derived fr ...

and Banff. The old church of King Edward with historic graveyard was founded around 1124 and dedicated to

St Aidan Aidan of Lindisfarne ( ga, Naomh Aodhán; died 31 August 651) was an Irish monk and Christian missionary, missionary credited with converting the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in Northumbria. He founded a monastic cathedral on the island of Lindis ...

. The last service in the old church was on 25 June 1848, after which services moved to new building alongside the main road. The

Castle of King Edward The Castle of King Edward is a 13th-century ruined castle near King Edward, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, located north of Turriff, where the A947 crosses the Burn of King Edward, and east of the River Deveron.Coventry, Martin (1997) ''The Castl ...

is a 13th-century ruined castle located approximately 1 mile south of the village where the A947 crosses the King Edward Burn. King Edward station stood on the

Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Railway The Banff, Macduff and Turriff Junction Railway was a railway company that connected the Aberdeenshire town of Turriff with the main line of the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) at Inveramsay. It had earlier been intended to reach Macduf ...

part of the

Great North of Scotland Railway The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating in the north-east of the country. Formed in 1845, it carried its first passengers the fr ...

system.

Famous inhabitants

Probably the best known inhabitant was

William Guild William Guild (1586–1657) was a Scottish minister, academic and theological writer. Life He was the second son of Marjorie (born Donaldson) and Matthew Guild, a wealthy armourer and hammerman of Aberdeen, and Deacon of the Guild of Hammerm ...

who was minister at the church from 1608 to 1631. Dr Guild went on to become principal at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

. Guild Street in Aberdeen is named after him.

Etymology

The name itself has nothing to do with any "King Edward", but is a corruption of an earlier

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

name. The first element "King", usually appears as "kin" in Scottish placenames, and derives from "Ceann" meaning a headland. The second element is less certain but may derive from "Eadar" (between) or "cathair-thalmhainn" (yarrow). The parish of King Edward has had approx 24 variations of the name: Kynedor (12th Century), Kynedward and Kinedart to name a few.

References

Origins of King Edward
*The Church of King Edward, Aberdeenshire, James Godsman Villages in Aberdeenshire Baronies in the Baronage of Scotland {{Aberdeenshire-geo-stub